Ensuring our students leave school as strong and confident readers is a key priority. Through reading, students are exposed to:
- Vocabulary that enables them to express themselves
- Ideas and knowledge that enable them to confidently discuss any topic
- New worlds and experiences that help them make sense of themselves, others and the world around them
Reading and vocabulary are woven into school life through the following initiatives:
- Guided tutor reading of a set text from Tuesday to Thursday
- 2 words of the week taught in tutor time and embedded in lessons
- A weekly ‘Reading for Pleasure’ lesson in English at Key Stage 3
- Encouraging reading outside school: We expect all students to read a minimum of 6 books a year outside of their lessons
- Knowledge organisers: Students in Year 7-11 receive 'knowledge organisers', summarising key words and content to be studied in the term ahead.
Supporting young people below their expected reading age
All students in KS3 complete a 'New Group Reading Test' (NGRT) at the beginning of each school year to ascertain their reading age level. Those with a lower-than-expected reading age in Key Stage 3 are supported in the following ways:
- 3 timetabled literacy lessons per week, with the aim of improving fluency and understanding, building vocabulary, improving writing skills, and encouraging discussion as a way to evolve students' own understanding and ideas
- Three reading age tests each year
- Strategies for students and parents to use at home to improve reading
- 6th form reading partners for students with the lowest reading ages; they complete guided reading together 3 mornings a week
- 2 week intensive reading catch up run by our experienced literacy teachers to plug any gaps and to help identify any special educational needs
Students that have not progressed to their chronological reading age by the end of year 9 complete a Functional Skills pathway in Year 10 and 11 in place of a GCSE subject.